Chicago
Dec. 18th, 1870
Dear Brother & Sister,
I believe that I have received two letters from you since I wrote
to you but I know you will excuse me when I come to tell you that I have been
sick and also Frances was sick for some time, and we have got a young son that
is five weeks old yesterday (Saturday) and a nice fellow he is too, and all are
as well as could be expected.
Frances has too much work for her to do for her. She sent the girl that we had away two weeks
ago and of course she and Hattie has to do all the work, although Hattie hasn’t
much time. She goes to school every day
and has to practice her music lessons.
She goes to the city every Saturday to take her lessons, consequently she
has her time pretty well taken up, and she begins to play some pieces very
nicely. We think by the time she takes another
term of lessons she will be able to play a good many pieces.
I went to see your friends the Hutchinson’s and was very
much pleased with their acquaintances and I had a very good visit with them
considering the short time they had to stay.
Mr. Hutchinson gave me three tickets and I bought two more and I and
four of my friends went to hear them sing, and they had a very good house and the
day was a stormy one, the only stormy day we have had this winter before or
since, for we never had finer weather than we had this winter. The Hutchinson’s are going to be here the
middle of January and we think they will have time to come up to the house and
see us at home and also go up to the mill.
I told him I would show him something outside of Chicago that was worth
seeing and he would go back to Minn and say there was no place in the USA like
Chicago, and of course we think so. You
can’t imagine out there what there is to be seen here both in and around the
city. It seems as though every day you can see some change toward improving the
city. I don’t hardly know where they get
the money to pay for it. But business
is very dull here now. All the merchants
are overstocked with goods off all kinds and the supposition that a good many
large concerns will fail this winter. I
hope not, but I fear that it will be the case for all that our business has
fallen off considerable of the past two weeks.
I suppose that it will be rather slack until about the first of Feb. and
then it will begin to get some better .
Richard is getting along very nicely and says that you owe
him a letter, and I guess you will have to write to him if you would like to
hear from him , and he is a good boy, and you would be very much interested in
him if you could see him and know his value, and he will soon be twenty one
years of age the first day of next May, and of course will feel himself a man. And I can assure you that there are but very
few young men better and more free from faults than him. And so you may think him one of the best young
men in this world. This is saying a good
deal for him, nevertheless it is true and I hope that you will write to him and
praise him up in his uprightness for he certainly deserves it from all his
relations. I think everything of him and
so does all of us and all of his acquaintances.
He is very saving, never hardly spends anything needless.
I intend to have Mr. Hutchinson to see us all before he goes
back to Minn and he can tell you how we look and how he likes us and all about
it . I was sorry it was so stormy that
day or else I should have gone home and got Hattie and taken her to see them. Hattie is going on her thirteenth hear. She is getting along very nicely with her
studies and is very interesting company now, and if I ever come out there I am
going to bring her with me.
You must write soon, and will close by wishing you all a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we all write in love to you all.
From your affectionate brother,
Edwin
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